In 1971 Don McLean released a song that turned out to be an American classic. The Day The Music Died (American Pie) was a tribute to Buddy Holly, but was also a song that made people think of better times, simpler times, and times when the human race was more "real". When satellite radio first started, it was a breath of fresh air. Hundreds of channels under one roof that stepped away from homogenized radio, celebrated diversity, and most of all gave the average person some sort of content that they could enjoy even if others thought it odd.

On July 3rd, 2014 satellite radio died. The satellite radio company fired Anthony Cumia of the Opie & Anthony Show for comments that Cumia made on his personal Twitter Account. The comments were said to be racist. The irony is in the official statement issued by SiriusXM.

"SiriusXM has terminated its relationship with Anthony Cumia of the Opie & Anthony channel. The decision was made, and Cumia informed, late Thursday, July 3 after careful consideration of his racially-charged and hate-filled remarks on social media," Sirius XM said in a statement. "Those remarks and postings are abhorrent to SiriusXM, and his behavior is wholly inconsistent with what SiriusXM represents."

How can the comments be inconsistent with what SiriusXM represents when in fact SiriusXM represents EVERYTHING... or at least used to. SiriusXM missed what could have been a defining moment. The sad part is that the company could not see this opportunity. What the SiriusXM Comment Should have been:

SiriusXM is a satellite radio service that celebrates diversity, opinion, differences in opinion and at its core believes that everyone is entitled to an opinion. SiriusXM exists as the sole satellite radio platform that allows varied opinions to be expressed in a manner that is simply not available elsewhere. SiriusXM and in fact listeners may not agree with certain stances, but the company stands behind the freedom to express that opinion. Some people may be offended by comments made by Anthony Cumia on his personal Twitter account, we understand that this may happen from time to time, and in particular with content that is considered controversial. The bigger issue at hand is our ability to deliver real content that holds true to the freedoms we all believe in. Mr. Cumia's statements on Twitter are a reflection on Mr. Cumia alone and not SiriusXM.

The world is getting to be more strange by the moment. Now, Many readers may not agree with what Anthony Cumia said, but that is not the point. The point is that SiriusXM has now allowed an outside influence dictate its own actions.

What we need to remember is that Cumia was on his own time and on his own Twitter account. This incident was not on SiriusXM property nor was it being conducted in the context of the show. Could Cumia have been more politically correct? Sure. However, why is it that EVERYTHING needs to be SOOOOO politically correct these days?

To be crystal clear, I want to state that I do not agree with some of what was stated. My issue is that SiriusXM allowed this to undermine the very foundation of what made satellite radio great. What is next? Will a priest be fired from the Catholic Channel for telling someone that they are a sinner at Sunday Mass outside of their official duties? Will Jay Z content get removed for racism? Will Bieber songs fall off of the playlist because of racism? SiriusXM should have simply stayed above the fray. The fact that the company did not, is a shame.

In the end SiriusXM will likely lose yet another staple of content that differentiates it from everything else. Just a few years ago people used to say that other companies were trying to be like SiriusXM. Sadly, today, the opposite is true. SiriusXM is bending over backwards to be more like every other company out there.

I am not a fan of Opie and Anthony at all … BUT I am still disgusted by SiriusXM. As the author stated, I thought that was the whole point of the company, To get away from the FCC and allow diverse opinions, Even opinions that are not acceptable to all. Let the shows stand on their own merits and when ratings fail , THEN is when you get cancelled.

I am a shareholder and subscriber, This is the beginning of turning my support of the company away!

If you’re a SIRI long, your motto in 2014 has been: “No rest for the weary!”

We’ll see what the new quarter brings…expectations are bubbling which means that it will be difficult to “meet the street.” Anything shy of a blowout will prevent the stock from climbing in my opinion since expectations have escalated so much. At this point I’m hoping just to break even this year – which is quite sad.

EXCELLENT article! It says what 99% of SiriusXM’s (former?) listeners feel about the Cumia situation. I bought a new car that came with a year of SiriusXM, and it only took me about a month to “discover” the O&A show. I almost immediately fell in love with the show, because Opie, Anthony, and Jim were REAL. Finally, something interesting on the radio. I had no doubt in my mind that I was going to subscribe after my free year ran out…NO DOUBT. Now, NO WAY will I subscribe. SiriusXM has proven to be just like terrestrial radio, afraid to upset the 1% minority of groveling crybabies. How ironic that a company that has no problem with “nigga” being said every 5 minutes on their rap channels and which runs a 24/7 porn channel fires someone for being racist and misogynistic! Freaking hypocrites!! I went from loving SiriusSM to hating them in 24 hours. The only person who should be fired is the idiot who made the decision to fire Anthony.

Anthony has said everything he said on twitter on his show. Every single world, and much worse, has been said ON Sirius’ airwaves. Why were his opinions perfectly fine when Sirius was paying him to say them, but when they were said on his own time they became a problem?

As for the column, I’d say the idea that satellite was an uncensored medium has been dead and buried a long time. Don’t forget O&A being suspended and nearly fired over the Homeless Charlie incident years ago. Or how they aren’t allowed to do many of the bits that they used to do on their regular radio show.

BTW. I’ve been hearing from a lot of people that the problem for Sirius wasn’t the race angle, but the gun talk.

How did he go “too far”? What did he say that crossed some line? Nothing he said was racist, contrary to the crappy media reports. If you think something he tweeted was racist, please tell me what it was. Was he raging about being attacked, sure and he has every right to do that. Just like you do. The question here is how far are we going to let companies control our lives outside of work. Imagine for a second that you get fired tomorrow after your boss finds out you posted here. You did call some one an “immoral lunatic” without having a clue as to the true content of the mans character. The truth is, Ant is a very moral person and far from lunacy. You made a judgement call without all the facts, and I think they call that prejudice. So your boss can fire you based on your prejudice being a poor reflection of the views of the company. At the very least you have proven that you lack the ability to look into all the facts before you speak so you could potentially be a liability to the company. While the first amendment has no bearing in this case because the government has not abridged Ant’s rights. We have to start looking at companies actions when they cross into our personal lives. There has to be a line somewhere.

The self destruct seems almost intentional. XM seemed to get it. After seeing the workings after the merger it always seemed the old radio guys in management running things were just there to milk it while it lasted. The contracts for Howard were just outrageous but that was also done by his old terrestrial boss. And then all the dancing around, rules and nonsense from lawyers. It’s subscription radio, it’s supposed to be looser.

They are also showing hypocrisy by leaving convicted felons on the air (Martha Stewart), racists like Jamie Foxx (who made jokes about how he gets the luxury of killing white people in movies and that blacks are the most talented people on earth), Eminem (used the word f***** to describe a “little gay boy” in his song last year), Howard Stern (who dresses up as Blackface and uses black stereotypes to degrade others) and the list goes on. They all get their own show.

This company’s stock is going down the drain as is their subscriber base.

Very good article. I too think Ant said (says) things that I would never say but thats his right. I understand some people may think differently than me. It’s weird that they chose that to fire him over after some of the things they paid him to say. Keep up the good work. A follow up article may be on how a company (Sirius) can survive in todays facebook world when they have not had control over it since July 4th.

More like the day sirius buzz died. Seriously, to attempt to masquerade a defense of racism under the highbrow guise of free speech is lamer then lame. As are the examples you used. Siri represents EVERYTHING? Really? Where’s the KKK channel? How about the NAMBLA channel? Maybe an I torture puppies for fun channel would bring a nice diversity of opinion. Hell why not just throw in a Holocaust denier channel for good measure?

Anthony was an offensive idiot. Sirius fired him. Was it easier considering the cost of the show is a net loss for the company? Of course but lets not jump up on a soap box here. Sirius is l;ike any other company. Once your presence become a net negative you go. It’s really as simple as that.

Freedom of speech does not apply to industry. Freedom of speech is the freedom to say things without going to jail or being penalized by the government. It doesn’t mean people cant think you’re an asshole or fire you. In fact, the firing of Anthony was Sirius exercising their freedom of speech.

Sirius XM has every right to take the action they did. The point is, that in doing this, they begin to walk down a road that can be the death of what made satellite radio great. Think about this more globally than Anthony Cumia. What happens if other talk gets silenced?

Sirius XM made a short sighted business decision that was reactionary rather than thinking about things at a more elevated plane.

The slippery slope discussion is moot. Sirius is private and not government. It is dictated by the free market. They can silence all they want on their own channels and someone else is more than welcome to give Anthony or any one they want a platform to compete. However I don’t think it will be very profitable or popular.

A corporation has no way of trampling your rights unless of course you are a woman and want birth control. None.

It isn’t a cop out, it is a fact. If Anthony wants, he can say whatever he wants on a pod cast that he produces himself whenever he wants.

He has no right to a pay check for it from any company. Now if you would pay for his pod cast and he thinks he could make money off it, good for both of you. But don’t be butt hurt because a station rather lose some of his audience than most of theirs… it is a market based economy and business decision and has nothing to do with what he said and everything to do with which audience is larger and produces more money.

Additionally there are only his accounts of this incident and his tweets so to rail on what is fact is at best weak and at worst a complete pile of bullshit.

You think SiriusXM stood to lose most of their 20+ million audience over this?

I think its pretty obvious that more people will cancel because Anthony was fired than would have if he had not been fired. O&A fans are passionate enough to cut of their nose to spite their face. Typical whiners and moaners that listen to Hits1 and complain online would not have.

So calling his attacker black is racist? I guess it’s ok in your eyes that she called him a white motherfucker?

He never ONCE called her a nigger (stating that word for facts sake). Calling someone an animal and savage for physically assaulting you is racist? Saying there is a violence problem in the black community is racist…or is it the fact that the truth hurts?

By the way, the savage woman could be dead right now, Anthony was carrying a gun and didn’t use it. Anyone offended by what was really said is an overly sensitive douchebag. And I mean you “heynow11728”

It’s absolutely amazing to me that the media has grabbed this and without so much as a cursory glance at the actual tweets, labeled it “racist”. Back when I learned journalism, that was called “yellow journalism”. In the end though, this isn’t about what he said. It’s more about the companies reaction. While this isn’t a first amendment issue really, it is a free speech issue non-the-less. The first amendment was written to protect the citizens from what was then the most powerful potential oppressor of speech. That has changed. Large companies now have more power and control over citizens then a government ever could have. We need to enact laws that limit what a company can do to an individual for things done or said outside of work. I am not saying everything should be overlooked, but there needs to be a line somewhere.

u don’t have a right to free speech in a company. U can be fired for whatever a company deems is a fire-able offense. U can then go and say what ever it is that you said on a street corner, in a tweet, or where ever your heart desires and not go to jail for it but if i want to fire you for calling me an ass its my right as the owner and operator to do so. I don’t need to honor your right to free speech u work for the company. I love the Google constitutional and legal scholars that come out of the woodwork when things like this happen. lord you are fools. be pissed but don’t say his rights are being infringed

It’s not about a legal right, it’s about a principle that SIRIUSXM once believed in. SiriusXM saved shows like Howard Stern and O&A from censorship and advertised that fact. Now they are censoring them. It’s strange to say the least. Anothony Cumia had said far worse on the airwaves… Were they not listening to the show?

Last winter I was sued by a freelance contractor that I hired to work one 2 day job for me. He attempted to extort money from me by threatening to contact the department of labor and turn me in for not paying him to drive to the work site as well as paying him a tip that he felt the client should have given him. I (understandably) went over the top ballistic on him over the phone for these irrational bizarre allegations that didn’t hold even a molecule of merit, only to be told that he had recorded my tirade and now threatened to sue me for employer abuse. I have one of the best lawyers in NYC and even he could not settle this case very easily in my favor. In the end, I paid the worker, I paid my lawyer and learned a great lesson about people, the law, and freedom speech. Seemingly normal people are capable of deranged behavior, the law is a crap shoot that generally does not work in the favor of rational justice, and freedom of speech exists, but also to be used against you. Although I don’t agree with Sirius xm’s decision to fire their employee, I certainly understand the can of worms they are attempting to suppress by doing so. It is a lose lose situation no matter what they did. It is simply that as a business (not as a forum for free speech), they are trying to cut their losses and proceed without further issue. If Anthony is a major driver of revenue for Sirius, I would expect that this is not over. There will probably be a full blown scripted apology designed by Sirius coming in the near future resulting in his forgiveness and rehiring, which may in fact backfire as he loses all respect from those who support his “speaking his mind”, and not someone else’s. Again, a lose lose situation. So either just let it go or fight tooth and nail to drive the point and unfortunately just waste a lot of time and effort doing so. This is America folks!

Satellite radio has become nothing more that pay AM/FM. They have strayed from what the original goal was for satellite radio; a place where opinions and freedom of expression, and not caving to the status quo was encouraged, not inhibited. To think that the moronic twitter universe can take anybody down in the blink of an eye is an atrocity, but unfortunately there are an awful lot of imbecilic, conformist, junk culture sheep in this country that will say something like “It is what it is”, or have bought in to this politically correct virus that is ruining this country. Talk about hypocrisy; SiriusXM has no problem airing a no holds barred porn channel that leaves NOTHING to the imagination – with the most filthy, vile and deviant subject matter and conversation imaginable… but is outraged by what one of it’s employees says after being physically attacked and cursed at because of a photo. Her rant was ok, but people are outraged by what he said! Cameras are EVERYWHERE, and I would have to believe that this “women” has been photographed many times on the streets of NYC. If you don’t want to have a pic taken, then why the hell are you walking into Times Square where every whack job in existence is taking pictures of everything! SiriusXM may have been a viable alternative to conventional radio at one time, but they have become like the rest of the world where the mantra is ‘money is everything.”

“The comments were said to be racist”.
Boy Spencer you certainly are the master of ” spin”.
Nowhere in their statement did they say he made “racist” comments.
What they said was ” racially charged comments”. Which I’m sure they were.
Two different things.
First off most companies these days have “at will ” policies. It’s usually a agreement someone signs to to even get the job.
This gives the company the right to release an employee for whatever reason they want.
This protects the company from lawsuits. Which ultimately protects their shareholders.
I’ve never listened to the show but my money tells me it was probably not a money maker or he would have probably been repremanded.
Easy way out of the contract.
Please get your facts straight.
How many folks would they have lost from the negative publicity if they didn’t do anything?
I’m pretty sure this went into the decision making.
Anyway, thanks

“How many folks would they have lost from the negative publicity if they didn’t do anything?”

I’m guessing 90-95% of SiriusXM listeners have no idea this happened or who Anthony Cumia is. This was barely news. Sure, it was big news here, on a site about satellite radio but, it did not make the 6 o’clock news.

One last thing.
What he does on his show is entertainment which the listener chooses to tune in to. If their offended they can change the channel.
What he does in public is a very different thing and should not be taken lightly.
Thanks again.

“Well I guess as long as he’s got you to as his mouthpiece he doesn’t need to respond. Especially when apparently he’s story line doesn’t add up.”

I’m not his mouthpiece. I simply took the time to reply.

“If Spencer isn’t going to respond then have him save his articles for those “premium” members. The ones he’ll speak to.”

The majority of authors who publish work online do not reply in the comments section of their articles. The comment section is for others to comment, debate, and share opinions.

“As far as his “agenda” goes you tell me what it is Charles.”

I don’t think he has one. You are the one accusing him — that’s why I asked you.

“Good luck to you Charles. You seem like a nice guy. Got your bosses back. Good soldier.

Do yourself a favor and find someone credible to support.”

Spencer is not my boss.

“BTW. Tell Spencer to “man up” and answer his own questions in the future please. Might make himself more credible.”

Again, the majority of authors do not respond in the public comment section of their own articles. I’m not saying he won’t, I’m just saying, that lack of response doesn’t mean anything. Go pick any article on any website and start calling the author out — the vast majority will not respond.

Thank you for visiting again — your continued support helps us pay the bills.

Comment Guidelines

Please do your best to keep comments interesting, to the point, and topical. Abusive, inappropriate, and blatantly self promotional posts may be edited or removed. If you have a question or an off topic comment, that is what the forums are for!

About

SiriusBuzz is a weblog dedicated to bringing readers in-depth coverage of Sirius XM Satellite Radio, it's competitors, and other emerging audio entertainment technology. Since 2006, Siriusbuzz has been educating and entertaining tens of thousands of fans on a daily basis.